"Qalat-al Qahira over Ta'izz city"
Ta`izz by Sambawalk

Ta'izz is a city in the Yemen Highlands near the famous Mocha port on the Red Sea, lying at an elevation of about 1,400 metres above sea level, with 460,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate). It is the capital of Ta'izz Governorate. It also contains ancient Jewish Sharab.

Ta'izz has a dramatic setting where the roads run up and down the mountain sides. Above the city rises the 3,006 metre high Sabir mountain.

The city has many old and beautiful quarters, with houses that are typically built with brown bricks, and mosques are usually white. Most famous among the mosques are the Ashrafiya, the Muctabiya and the Mudhaffar. Also memorable are the old citadel and the governor's palace that rests on top of a mountain spur 450 metres above the city centre.

Taiz remained a walled city until 1948 when Imam Ahmed made it the second capital of Yemen, allowing for expansion beyond its fortified wall. Taiz today is the largest industrial base in Yemen, thanks to the huge investment of the Hayel Saeed group, yet it did not lose its historical charm.